Signal-operating system for railways



4 Sheets-Sheet 1. B. C. ROWELL. V SIGNAL OPERATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.No. 599,456.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 22, 1898.

WIT/VESStTS.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. O. HOWELL. SIGNAL OPERATING SYSTEM FOR- RAILWAYS. No. 599,456.

Patented Feb. 22, 1 898 IIVVE/VTOH MG 8) v wa wmv WITNESSES:

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4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

' B. O. HOWELL.

SIGNAL OPERATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS. No. 599,456.

Patented Feb: 22;, 1898.

WITNESSES:

BY Wigwam VMa:

ATTORNEYS 4 SheetsSheet 4.

(No Model.)

B. O. ROWELL. SIGNAL OPERATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS. No. 599,456.

Patented Feb. 22, 1898.

WITNESSES.

\VC ILADQ/ ATTORNEYS.

1: NORRIS PETERS co, wow-mm. wAsmNsrm. a. c.

UNTTED STATES PATENT rricn.

BENTON O. ROIVELL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THEROWELL-POTTER SAFETY STOP COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

SIGNAL-OPERATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,456, dated February22, 1898.

Application filed July 6,1896- Serial No. 598,157. (No model.)

T to whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENTON O. ROWELL, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Signal-Operating System for Railways, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a diagram showing my system as a Whole, thesemaphore-arms being in line with the track for clearness. Figs. 2 and 3are elevations of the semaphore connections. Fig. 4: is an elevation ofthe controlling apparatus. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan on line 5 5 ofFig. 4. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the power-storing apparatus. Fig. 7 isan elevation of the actuating mechanism of the powerstoring apparatus.Fig. 8 is a partial elevation of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a section on line 9 9of Fig. 6 in direction of arrow 13. Fig. 10 is a partial section on line10 10 of Fig. 6 in direction of arrow 3 My invention is a power signalsystem, one feature of which is a coiled-spring powerstoring apparatusin which one end of the spring is moved in storing power and the otherend in expending power and in which the power is stored by a successionof impulses from a passing train.

A second feature is a poWer-st0ring apparatus having automaticadjustable means to regulate the amount of stored power.

A third feature of my invention is a controlling mechanism for thepower-storing apparatus adapted to hold and control an apparatusexerting great power and yet itself to be released by a very slightpower.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have shown diagrammatically my system. Aindicates the power-storing and signal-operating apparatus; B, thecontrolling mechanism; 1) b, the electrical connections by which thecontrolling mechanism is operated from a distance; D, a safety-stop; D,a visual signal; E, a second safety-stop so connected to the connectingmechanism as to be always opposed to safety-stop D; E, avisual signal. Dand E are connected and in accord with D and E, respectively. It will beobvious that for the safety-stops D and E and signals D E, with which mypower-storing and controlling apparatuses are shown as connected, anysuitable and desirable mechanism which it is desired to operateas, forexample, a switchmay be substituted. The safetystop and signal systemindicated above is fully described in Letters Patent No. 556,773, datedMarch 24, 1896.

In Fig. 7 I show a compound lever A, adjusted beneath and in contactwith the rails of a railway and pivoted at a. The free end of the leveris pivotally connected to a rod a. It is obvious that any depression ofthe rails will cause the long endof lever A to move and with it rod a.(See Figs. 6and 9.) The upper end of rod a is pivotally connected to alug a upon a strap a which encircles and revolves upon a drum a Pawls aalso pivotally connected with lug a engage ratchetwheels a fast to drum05*.

It will be obvious that in a power-storing apparatus which operates by asuccession of impulses it is a desirable object, tending to promote thelife of the mechanism, to utilize slight movements of the actuatingmechanism, and these ratchet-wheels are so secured to the drum withrelation to each other that the teeth upon one wheel are as far fromcoinciding With the teeth of either of the other wheels as is possible.In this way the length of a tooth upon one of the ratchet-wheels isdivided into as many parts as there are ratchet-wheels, and a veryslight movement of the lever A can be utilized. The same result may bereached by allowing the teeth of the ratchet-wheels to coincide andsecuring the p'awls in such a manner or Varying the length of the pawlsin such a manner that the length of the teeth upon the ratchetwheelswill be subdivided in the above-mentioned way-that is, so that only onepawl at a time will engage a tooth of a ratchet-wheel, the other pawlsbeing idle. The result of this arrangement or shaping of parts will bethe same as that mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Within the drum are a plurality of coiled springs a fast at one end tothe drum and at the other to a main shaft a The ends of shaft a aresupported by standards. Part of the frame of the apparatus and the drumitself turns upon shaft a the heads of the drum a being bored to allowthe ends of shaft a to project from the drum. It will now be obviousthat movement of lever A will, through rod pawls a and ratchet-wheels a,cause the drum a to revolve and springs 01, to be coiled tighter uponshaft a provided that shaft a is prevented from turning and providedthat drum a is held in the position to which it may be pushed by pawls aShaft a is ordinarily prevented from turning, as will hereinafter beexplained. Drum a is prevented from moving in any other direction thanthat in which it is actuated by pawls a by a second set of pawls of,engaging ratchet-wheels a". These pawls are prevented from lateralmotion by a slotted lug 0, upon strap 0?, and from longitudinal motionby links a, pivotally connected to the frame of the apparatus. Springs akeep pawls a in engagement with ratchet-wheels a". The length of theslot in the lug is sufficient to allow the greatest possible movement tostrap a under the influence of lever A through the various connections.It will now be obvious that every deflection of the rails over lever Awill tighten the springs in drum at. It will also be obvious that,unless provision is made against such a result, it would be possible forthe springs to become too tightly wound upon shaft a and thus broken. Iprevent this result by automatic mechanism which, when the springs havebeen wound as tightly as is deemed desirable, catches the rod a upon itsupward movement and holds it in this inoperative position until thesprings have been uncoiled to a certain extent, when the rod a isreleased andfalls, and the lever A is thus once more brought intooperation. It will be apparent that this automatic regulating feature isa matter of much practical importance in a power-storing apparatus suchas I have described, inasmuch as without it it would be possible togreatly strain or break the mechanism after a proper limit of storedpower had been reached. This automatic regulating mechanism, as shown,consists of a shaft e parallel with the main shaft a and supported ateither end in bearings a. Longitudinal movement of shaft a is preventedby collars a and by the hub of spur-gear a Spur-gear a meshes withspur-gear a", fast to shaft a Shaft a is screw-threaded for a part ofits length, the screw-threads being marked c0 and a traveler spur-gear ahaving an interiorlyscrewthreaded hub, is mounted upon the shaft uponthis screwthreaded portion and engages the teeth of a toothed cylinderat, which is secured upon drum a. (See Figs. 6 and 10.) It will beobvious that if shaft a revolves shaft a will revolve in the oppositedirection and spurgear a will be moved in one direction along shaft e bymeans of the screw-threads on the shaft and the screw-threaded hub,spurgear a not itself revolving, being in mesh with toothed cylinder 00fast to drum or. If, however, the drum a is revolved, travelergear 01,will be revolved in the opposite direction and will move along shaft 00in a direction opposite to that in which it moved before.

It will be plain now that revolution of the drum a which winds thecoiled springs a and thus stores up power, will cause the traveler-gear0. to move longitudinally upon shaft or in one direction, while movementof main shaft a which is the power-expending motion of the apparatus,will cause the travelergear a to move in the opposite direction. It isonly necessary, therefore, to supply mechanism by means of which thislongitudinal motion of traveler-gear a may be utilized to hang up orrelease rod a, as the case may be, and so proportion the gears a a" andgear 04 and toothed cylinder a that the required revolution of shaft aanddrum a may give sufficient longitudinal movement to travelergear a.It will be obvious that this double capacity of the traveler-gear a toreceive motion either from shaft a or from toothed cylinder (1. isessential to proper regulation of a power-storing machine, the parts ofwhich move only in one direction and which is capable from itsconstruction of both storing and expending power at the same instant,for by means of this double capacity of the travelergear if the storageand expenditure of power is proceeding at the same rate of speed thereis no movement of the traveler-gear, the tendency of traveler-gear a tomove in one direction as shaft or revolves being neutralized by itstendency to move in the other direction as it is itself revolved bytoothed cylinder a and the simultaneous storage and expenditure of poweralways has the effect of either causing the traveler-gear to remain atthe same point upon shaft 00 or more or less retarding its movement inone direction or the other as the storage and expenditure of power varyin their relation to one another. The longitudinal movement oftraveler-gear'a is utilized by means of a forked arm 00 which swingsupon a shaft a (see Figs. 6 and 10,) the forks of the arm being uponopposite sides of gear a. This arm is loosely connected by a pin LL22 toa disk 00 the pin working in a slot in the disk. The disk is controlledby a spring-rod 60 one end of which reciprocates in a bearing a whichserves also as an abutment for spring a, and the other end of which ispinned to the disk. .A bolt a reciprocating in a bearing a, lies next tothe disk and a pin a in the disk enters a slot in this bolt. The bolt 0,has a tooth across its face. Upon that side of rod a opposite thistoothed face of bolt a is a ratchet the teeth of which are not more insize than the smallest movement of rod a, which pawls a and ratchets awill utilize. This relation of size is necessary, as otherwise after rod0; had been caught by bolt (1 and hung up the passage of a wheel alittle heavier or faster than that which actuated rod a when it wascaught and hung up would actuate the rod slightly and drum or might berevolved without rod a being caught itself at a higher point, and thusit would be possible to go on revolving the drum after the springs weretightly coiled.

The operation of the power-storing apparatus is as follows: The machinebeing set in position and, say, half-stored, the travelergear a is atthe position shown in Fig. 6. The passage of a train will actuate leversA and will, through rod a, pawls a, and ratchet-wheels a, revolve drum aand wind up springs a This motion of drum a will revolve traveler geara, through toothed cylinder a fast to drum a and will cause gear a tomove to the left upon shaft a. This movement will turn disk a, througharm a until spring-rod a is at a dead-center. Any further movement ofthe disk will leave spring a free to operate, and the disk will bethrown around until stopped by the end of the slot in the disk and thepin a on forked arm a. This movement of the disk will shoot bolt aforward through pin a fast to the disk and working in a slot in bolt(L28, and thus engage tooth on bolt a with the ratchet on rod a. Untilbolt a is withdrawn spring a tends constantly to keep it pressedforward. Movement of shaft a will reverse this process. Shaft arevolving within the hub of traveler-gear a and forcing gear a to theright until the disk is thrown over by spring a and bolt a is withdrawnfrom engagement with the ratchet on rod a. Shaft a is connected with thework to be done in any suitable manner. As the work to be done (shown inthe drawings) is the setting of safety-stops and signals, theconnecting-rod F of the safety-stops is connected to shaft a by means ofa link f and a crank upon the end of shaft a (See Figs. 1 and 8.) As hasbeen explained, every onward movement of drum a is held by holde'r-pawlsa". So far as appears there is no reason why shaft a should not revolveand allow springs a to uncoil as fast as springs a are coiled by therevolution of drum a. This is provided for by my controllingmechanism,which I will now describe.

It will be obvious that one-half a revolution of a shaft a would throwconnecting-rod F in one direction, while the balance of the revolutionwould throw rod F back to its original position and therefore would undothe work just performed. It is necessary, therefore, that at the end ofone-half a revolution the shaft a should be stopped and held until it isdesired to reverse the position of the signals or the like controlled byrod F. This is accomplished by the mechanism shown in Figs. 4c and 5.This mechanism is in effect two machines, each of which controls themovement of rod F in one direction. In Figs. 1 and 4 rod F is shownthrown over as far as it can go to the left. Upon the entrance of atrain into the section protected by safetystops D E and signals D E,which would be from the left of Fig. 1, the section being clear, thetrain passes over safety-stop E and before reaching safety-stop D closesthe circuit b, drawing the armature (2 connected with that circuit, andreleasing lever b Spring b on spring-rod b pinned at its upper'end tolever 5 immediately lifts 11 carryin g pin b out of the path of arm 12on rockshaft o Through link I) spring I) now tends to pull arm bforward, while rodl F,

through ratchet-teeth f, pawl 19 and arm 19 on rock-shaft b pushes itforward, the effort of the power-storing apparatus A being to move rod Fto the right. b is moved to the right by rod F it encounters stud Z3 andis lifted out of engagement with ratchet-teeth f. Rod F, released fromcontrol, is thrown by power apparatus A to the right, bringingratchet-teeth f at the left of the drawings into engagement with pawl Z2at the left of the drawings, thus preventing any further motion of shafta The resetting of the mechanism is accomplished as follows: Standard Z1fast to rod F, carries at its upper end a bearing Z9 for spring-rod 19I) being also an abutment for the spring 79 Standard b also carries apin Z7 which works in a cam-slot in lever I), which is fulcrumed at 11to the frame of the machine. One end of spring-rod I9 is pinned to arm12 and one end of lever 19 serves as a bearing for spring-rod b and anabutment for spring 11 It will be apparent that as soon as rod F movesto the right spring 17 will be compressed, first, because arm b pullsspring-rod Z) to the left, and, secondly, because bearing b pushesspring 6 to the right.

As soon, therefore, as pawl b is freed from teeth f arm 6 will return toits upright position. The movement of standard Z9 to the right alsooperates the cam-lever b raising the end at the right of Fig. 4 and,through spring-rod b drawing lever 19 down, so that it may be caught bythe detent of the armature b At the end of the stroke of rod F to theright the position of the parts will be as shown in the duplicatemechanism at left of Fig. 4. Lever B will hold lever b down, throughspring-rod 11 until cam-lever Z9 is reversely operated by the movementof rod F, when the parts to the right of Fig. 4 will again be as shown,spring o compressed and springrod If free to move up when lever 13 1sreleased. As the train leaves the section thus blocked the circuit Z) isclosed and its armature released, when the duplicate mechanism shown atthe left of Fig. 4. operates as above described, eXcept that it permitsa half-revolution of shaft a and a consequent motion of rod F from rightto left, thereby unblocking the section, for the motion of rod F fromleft to right sets safety-stop E and semaphore E to danger and stop Dand semaphore D to safety by the connections shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3and as fully described in my patent above referred to, while the reversemotion of rod F sets them as in Fig. 1.

lVhat I claim is- 1. In a signal-operating system, the com- As pawlbination of a main shaft; a drum mounted upon that shaft; a coiledspring connecting the drum and the shaft; means to rotate the drumcontinuously in one direction by a succession of impulses from a passingtrain; means to prevent the drum from rotating in the opposite directionand means to prevent the rotation of the main shaft until the power ofthe apparatus is to be expended, substantially as described.

2. In combination a main shaft; a drum mounted upon that shaft; a coiledspring connecting the drum and the shaft; means to rotate the drumcontinuously in one direction by a succession of impulses from a passingtrain; and means to prevent the drum from rotating in the oppositedirection, substantially as described.

the drum; a traveler-gear having an interiorly-threaded hub and in meshwith the toothed cylinder; a screw-threaded shaft upon which thetraveler-gear is mounted and means to connect the main shaft and thescrew-threaded shaft, all organized so that movement of the main shaftwill cause the traveler-gear to travel in one direction along thescrew-threaded shaft while movement of the drum in the same direction asthe main shaft will cause the travelergear to move along thescrew-threaded shaft in a direction opposite to its former movement.

4:. In a power-signal system a controlling apparatus consisting ofdetent 19 a lever 19 spring b tending to lift leverb pin bfl-lever brock-shaft b leverb; and pawl 19 all organized and operating asdescribed.

BENTON G. HOWELL.

Witnesses-z GEORGE E. CHURCH, JOHN P. LUXMORE.

